Doublestop Magazine

There’s more than one way to bow a cello…

At least, according to Michael Bach and Frances-Marie Uitti, both cellists who have come up with new bowing techniques, according to a recent San Francisco Chronicle article.

Uitti plays with two bows: “one in the normal position atop the strings and the other between the strings and the body of the cello - so that the number of string combinations available to her increases instantly.” Bach (no relation to the composer) developed a “curved cello bow with loosely strung hairs that can be drawn across all four cello strings at once.”

The article has a nice photograph of Bach’s bow, but the Uitti photo managed to cut off the bow. Seriously. The whole article is about unconventional bowing techniques, yet they failed to show it. Anyway.

Anyone tried something like this? Or are you happy with your bowing options as-is?